Method of making articles from a fibrous composition



.lilly l0, 1928.

. w. G. o'BRlEN 1676798 METHOD OF MAKING ARTICLES FROM A FIBROUS COMPOSITION Filed Sept. 16, 1922 INVENTOR ATTORNEY` Patented July l0, 1928.

- r jarigen.-

WILLIAH G. .OBBIEN, O F AKRON, OHIO, ABSIGNQR T THE vGODYEAB TIRE 'UBBE COEBANY, F AKRON, OEI@ mamon or at e .ennemis .a coaronarron or omo.

anon a menons conrosrrroit.

Application alea septeme ie, ieee. amar-no.l saaefea- Myinvention pertains to h method of and apparatus for making1 articles from a brpus composition, and it as particular relation' to a method of and aemachinefor molding 5 such articles.

One object of my' invention is' to provide a A novel method of makingarticles com-A posed of a brous "composition, in which the article may be molijledv into theA nally desired form, and inievhich the bers 'are depositednormally to the. wearing surface i thereof. .I Another object of my invention is to pro-y 'vide a machine whereby-:articles of ang' desired contour may #be Alfnolt'le'd `from rous' material and in whicli'"the bers 'are so arranged by the machine as to causetheni tobe perpendicular to the external snrfaeae the 'art1cle.' z- 2e In the accompanying drawing: Fig. .1 is a cross-sectional view of a machine adapted for the formation of articles in accordance with -my invention, parts -bes in broken away for the sake of clarity; and ig. 2 is anl end elevational view of the portion of themachine illustrated in 1. 3,.

The machine is provided with a tan connected'to a cylinder 4 by means of a conduit 5. -The conduit 5 is provided with a valve 6, which mayzbeopened and closed at will by means of'avhandle 7. The tank 3 is 'normally em loyed asa container fora liq. uid in whic 1s bers. The cylinder. 4 is provided with a -piston or plunger. memberv 8, mounted u cna pislton rod 9, which' extends throng a piston head 10, and is connected to a suitable source. of ower, not shown. The cylinder 4 is 'providgd at the opposite 'end with a removable end member 11, which consists of a main supporting ring 12, an auxiliary supporting ring 13, and a screen member 14, of comparatively ne mesh, which is disposed between, and clamped in position by, the two annular members 12 and 13,l by means ,citi screws 15 or other suitableconnecting dei vices; The rings 12and 13 are connected' rigidly to the cylinder 4 by means'V of latching members 16, orl other suitable'fastenir devices. The rings 12 and 13 are provid with correspondingly' shaped openings 17,

dle 7 is rotate vsuspended a'quantity vvof arid 18, respectively, .which conform incon- --aia'zas f tour to the article which it is desired -to make. "In the apparatus illustrated, the

PDB Ilings conform to soles for shoes, as best ,mdlcated in Fig. 2.

the machine, the valve haniln operating through an angle of 90b, thus opening the valve 6 and establishing lcommunication between the container-.3 and the cylinder 4, through the conduit 5. vA relaltively large quantity' of bers vsuspended in the'liquid in thefcontainer 3 is permitted to enter t-he cylinder 4. When a sufficient quantity of bers has been admitted to the vcyllnder 4, thel valv'e 6 is closed, and the pis-v ton 8 is moved forward by means ofthe pis ton rod 9. As the piston moves toward the end l11 ofthe cylinder, the liquid inY which the Vfibers are suspended is forced through the screen .which covers the' openings in` l members 17 and 18 respectively. The mesh ofthe screen 14 is suiciently ,line tov prevent the assage of the bers therethrough.'` As the iquid asses through the screeii 14, the bers arev eposited thereon, and as the lpisend 11 of the cylinder, all of the bers 'are forced into the opening 17 in the ring 12. f

It is believed to be essential thatv the liq. uld bepassed through the screen 14 at a relatively high rate of'speed because, when the liquid moves rapidly, the bers arrange themselves in the direction in 'which the ton 8 is moved into engagement with the e liquid is moving and engage thesereen in a position perpendicular thereto. As the liquid is moving rapidly, through the screen,

large numbers of the bers are similarly disosed in a very brief interval of time. The bers are therefore assisted in retaining their'perpendicular position by other bers similarly disposed upon all sidesthereof. 1s believed that if the liquid were caused to *pass thru the 4screen 14 at a relatively low rate ofs eed, the bers would be originally dispose perpendicular to the screen, but would subsequently be forced or 'would tendto arrange themselves parallel 'thereto by the pressure of oncoming liquid and bers. By passing the liquid thro`ugh the screen lrapidly there is'more tendency for the bers to retain their original osition. A elso, they are assisted by other bers deposited `in engagement therewith either simultaneousl or immediately thereafter.

` It is essential that the end member 11 be readily removable from the cylinder 4 so that the articles formed may be quickly and easilyl removed therefrom, or if desired, they maybe dried while in the mold.

While I have referred to the solids. used merely as fibers, it Will be understood that manila, hemp, cotton, Wool, asbestos, jute` leather,`or any other suitable fibrous material may be employed.

In practising my invention I prefer to employ rubber coated fibers, which may be prepared by mixing a quantity of thefibers with a solution of rubberin the container 3, and vprecipitating the rubber thereen by the addition of a rubber precipitatingi agent, or by any other desired method. rlhe rubber coated fibers, together with the liquid in which they are suspended, are then admitted to the cylinder t andthe fibers are deposited upon the screen 14 as the liquid passes therethrough as already described. AV

quantity of alcohol or other suitable rubber precipitant is then admitted to the cylinder 3 through a conduit 19, and is forced through the fibers deposited upon `the screen 14. This liquid is also caused to move at a relatively high rate of speed through the screen.

The treatment with the alcohol serveslto re`- move from the rubber on the fibers, any rubber solvent or other undesirable liquid ingredient which may remain therein. This operation is known as the Washing or displacing operation. p

From the foregoing description, it will be l apparent that I have provided a 'novel method 'of molding articles from aY fibrous composition. Also that by this method the fibers are so arranged as to be perpendicular rthe screen with their Lavagna to the wearing surface of the material thus improvin the Wearing qualities .of the article. t will also be apparent that I have provided a novel type of machine for form-4 ing and subsequently Washing articles of any desiredcontour Without Wasting any of` the materia-l of Which the article is formed.

While I have illustrated only one form` whiehmy ,inventionmay assume and have described in detail but a single `application thereof, it Will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but that various minor changes and modifications may be made therein Without departing "from the spirit of my invention, or from fibrous composition which consists in precipitating rubber upon a quantity of fibers, forcing the liquid in which the coated fibers are suspended through a screen. of sufliciently small mesh to prevent the passage therethrough of the particles, and subsequently causing a rubber precipitant to be moved through said screen.

The method of forming an article from a suspension of fibers in a liquid that comprises forcing the liquids through a fiber re `taining mesh at a velocity suHiciently great to cause the fibers to be caught and held on axes perpendicular thereto.

In witness whereof, signed lmy name.

WILLIAM G. OB RIEN.

I have hereunto 

